The creek began moving beneath the ice.
Birds returned.
And sunlight reached the cabin windows for longer each day.
Spring was coming.
With it came the possibility that Josephine could leave.
The thought unsettled me more than I'd expected.
I wanted her to have choices.
The mountains were beautiful, but they weren't easy.
The roads were difficult.
Medical care was far away.
And the practical challenges of living in a remote cabin were greater for her than for many other people.
I didn't want her affection to arise from feeling that she had nowhere else to go.
If she stayed, I wanted it to be because she freely chose the life we could build together.
Not because I'd rescued her.
Not because she needed my help with the Calder records.
And not because winter had trapped us under the same roof.
I began making plans for her departure.
I repaired the sleigh's transport compartment for conversion into a broad spring wagon with proper supports and safe access. I also spoke with a freight driver who traveled the lower route, arranging for assistance once the road reopened.
Josephine noticed.
She said nothing at first.
Then one evening, while I worked on the wagon's fittings, she asked whether I was eager to be rid of her.
I looked up.
"No."
She studied me.
"Then why do you keep preparing for me to leave?"
I set down the tool.
For a moment, I couldn't answer.
Finally, I said.
"Because I need you to know you can."
Her expression softened.
Then she asked quietly.
"And what if I don't want to?"
I looked away.
That was the question I was still afraid to answer.
The second visitor arrived on the third of April.
This time, Slade wasn't alone.
He brought a lawyer named Mr. Pritchard, a thin man wearing an expensive coat and an expression of practiced superiority.
They approached the cabin shortly before noon.
I met them outside.
Slade smiled.
"Mr. Walker. Hope we're not interrupting."
I looked toward the horses.
Then toward the two men.
"Depends what you want."
Pritchard opened a leather case.
He explained that Calder Consolidated had obtained additional records concerning the valley.
According to the company, my water-use rights were invalid because an earlier claim had priority.
I listened.
Then asked to see the evidence.
Pritchard produced several papers.
I examined them.
The documents referred to a survey completed in 1856.
Thomas Wren's survey.